Secret Place
by ZeldaDragon
Summary: Padmé shows Anakin her 'secret spot' -COMPLETE-
1. Chapter 1

Hey, all! Just so you know, this story takes place while Anakin and Padmé are at the lake retreat. I honestly like my other story better, but I hope you enjoy this one! Oh, yeah, I tried to put some humor in here, so try to look at it with an open mind. I don't do humor well. ; ) One more thing. I know that Anakin and, more likely, Padmé act out of character. Sorry 'bout that, didn't realize until I had finished writing the fic. I didn't mean to!! Read and Review!

Kennesaw Mountain Marching Band Rules!!!!!!! : D

Disclaimer: No, they aren't mine. Nothing in this story is except for Angel and Grace, and I wish they were real. : )

Now, on with the show... 

It was still dark outside as Padmé Amidala walked quietly to her friend's room. She was already dressed in loose blue pants and a matching shirt.

Quietly, Padmé slipped into her sleeping companion's quarters, not wanting to wake anyone but him.

"Anakin!" she whispered loudly once she was near his bed.

When he didn't do anything, Padmé bent over him and whispered, "Anakin, get up!"

All Anakin did was roll over and mutter something that sounded like, "But I don't wanna meditate, master."

"For the last time, Ani, get up!" Her hair, which she hadn't tied back, fell onto Anakin's face. He reached up and swatted the brown locks away. Finally, Anakin opened his eyes.

"I told you, Master, I don't want to-" he was cut short when he saw that it was Padmé who had woken him, not Obi-Wan. 

"Padmé?" Anakin asked sleepily, "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to wake you!" she retorted, "Now get up and get dressed! I want to take you somewhere."

"Okay, okay..." he said groggily as he got out of bed. Padmé noticed that Anakin wasn't wearing a shirt, and had to remind herself not to stare.

"Meet me on the back deck when you're ready," she said before she left the room.

"There you are!" Padmé exclaimed when Anakin joined her on the deck.

"What?" Anakin asked innocently, "It only took me five minutes!"

"Oh, well," Padmé said, slightly embarrassed, "Follow me."

Anakin obeyed, following her down a flight of stairs at the rear of the deck and onto a dirt path nearly hidden by the green, exotic trees of Naboo.

"Padmé, where are we going?" Anakin asked curiously as he looked up to see the sun shedding its first light on the forest the were walking in.

"Oh, you'll see," Padmé answered at length, loving the confused look on Anakin's face.

After a few minutes, the two reached a fenced in clearing. Padmé whistled.

"Ani," Padmé wondered, "have you ever ridden a horse?"

The question took him by surprise.

"A _real_ one?" he asked.

"Of course, a _real_ one!" Padmé laughed.

"No," Anakin said suspiciously.

"Well, here's your chance to learn," Padmé said as two animals ran up to the fence.

"You're kidding, right?" Anakin asked seriously as Padmé climbed into the enclosure. He had never seen a horse before. He doubted that such a beautiful animal could survive in the deserts of his home. His mother had said that her great-grandmother, his great-great-grandmother, had, before they were slaves. Before they had to live on Tatooine.

"Why would I be kidding?" Padmé asked calmly as she stroked a white mare's head.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" Anakin wanted to know.

"No," Padmé said, "We just need them to get there."

"You mean, I actually have to get on?" Anakin asked, stunned.

Padmé nodded.

"No, absolutely not." Anakin said defiantly.

"Why not?"

"Well, I like to fly, not ride; especially not on something _alive_!" Anakin looked into her pleading eyes. 

"Oh, all right." he finally agreed. 'Why can't I say no this woman?' he asked himself.

"Thank you!" Padmé said happily. "There's a gate over there. And could you please grab the two bridles on the post?"

Anakin went to do as she had asked. When he returned holding the two bridles, Padmé said, "You can ride Grace." She pointed to a chestnut; " It'll be impossible to fall off her. Sometimes I can swear that she's an elvish horse, like in stories. I'll ride Angel, the white one."

When she had gotten the bridle on her horse and helped Anakin with his own, she said, "Now just jump onto her back."

Anakin stared at her like she was crazy.

"Don't worry, Grace is gentle. She won't run away." Try as she might, Padmé couldn't keep the laughter out of her voice. Anakin was afraid! "Go on, it's not hard!"

To prove her point, Padmé put her hands on Angel's back and pulled herself up, swinging one leg to the other side. She took hold of the reins. Anakin did as she did, and was soon on Grace's back, reins in hand.

"Okay, now press your heels gently into her side." Padmé instructed. "See? It's not so bad!" she said as Grace started walking.

"C'mon, lets get going." she said , guiding Angel to the gate, Anakin and Grace following. "It's a few hours ride."


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again. Here's some more of my story. I hope you like it! I don't really think this story is that great, but I like it anyway. = P And I'm sorry about all the spelling errors. Sometimes the stupid spell check doesn't catch everything.

It may take me a while to get the other chapters up. I have marching band practice every day this week, and our first Bands of America regional is on Saturday! Go KMHS Band!!

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"Anakin?" Padmé asked after about an hour, "Would you like to go a little faster? 'Cause I do." She smiled.

They hadn't been riding for very long, but Anakin was beginning to get comfortable with Grace's stride.

"Faster?" Anakin looked up and Padmé nodded. "Sure, I guess."

"Okay, just press your heels into Grace's side a little harder until she's going the speed you want."

Anakin obeyed, bringing Grace to fast trot, Padmé doing the same.

"There's a clearing up here," Padmé said. "We can rest and get some food." she pointed to a bag behind her on Angel's back.

"Okay."

After a few minutes, the two reached the clearing Padmé had mentioned. 

"You go ahead and get off," Padmé said, "I'm going to go over there and jump Angel for a minute."

Anakin nodded as Padmé led Angel to a section of the field where a tree had fallen, leaving a log on the ground.

Instead of eating the food she had left him, Anakin sat on the ground beside Grace, who was munching on some grass, and watched Padmé as she neared the log. Angel began to go faster when Padmé urged her, and the horse sailed over the tree, coming out in a fast gallop. Anakin stared in awe as Padmé went over again, and again, finally slowing Angel to a walk and jumping off.

"Wow," Anakin said.

Padmé smiled. "My sister and I would come out here to ride all the time," she explained. "Sola is a much better rider than I am."

"I can't imagine anyone better than you." Anakin smiled mischievously. Padmé felt her heart quicken and looked away, blushing.

"So," Anakin changed the subject, noticing Padmé's blush, "how much longer until we reach your secret spot?"

"Not much longer." she answered.

"Here," Anakin handed her a water bottle, "have something to drink."

Padmé took the water from Anakin's hand, her fingers brushing his. She looked away as this happened and drank the water he had given her.

When she looked up again, Anakin was gone. Padmé sighed, knowing that he was up to something. She put the top back on the water bottle and set it on the ground.

As soon as she did this, someone ran into her from behind. She knew who it was and screamed playfully. When Padmé hit the ground (Anakin had used the Force to slow their fall), Anakin rolled her over onto her back and began to tickle her sides mercilessly. Padmé howled with laughter.

She tried to say his name, but was laughing too hard to speak. Then Anakin stopped and let Padmé catch her breath. She opened her eyes and saw Anakin grinning. He hadn't moved and was still laying on top of her. He began to lean down, and Padmé thought -hoped- that he was going to kiss her. But then he stopped himself and rolled over to lay on the grass beside her.

Padmé looked over at Anakin, who was playing with a small yellow flower. Their sides were touching, and Padmé felt a shock race through her body.

"Anakin," he looked over at her and suddenly she was at a loss for words. They just stared at each other. And then he did kiss her, rolling back over so they could be closer. Padmé felt her heart flutter and reached her hand up and laid it on his shoulder. After a moment, though, Anakin pulled back and stood up. He held out his own hand to Padmé, helping her up.

"We should get going," he stated, his cheeks slightly flushed.

Padmé just nodded, wishing he hadn't pulled back. She knew she shouldn't be thinking like that, but she couldn't help herself. She had fallen in love. With a Jedi. With Anakin.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you sooooo much for reviewing! Now I know why authors like it so much! ^_^ 

Here's the next chapter, hope you like it! Oh, and please read my other story. You can find it on my bio. Thanks!

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The two had been riding for another few hours, and Anakin was finally getting the hang of it. Padmé had gotten him to go faster, but he was still a bit nervous. This made Padmé laugh, to see the fearless Jedi Padawan afraid of a horse. 

Anakin looked over to see why she was giggling. "What?" he asked, curious.

She just laughed more as a response.

"I don't like people to laugh at me," he said, grinning anyway. He meant what he said, but didn't mind if it was Padmé who was laughing. He loved the sound of her laughter.

After a few minutes, Padmé calmed down a bit and said, "Look!'

Anakin looked to where she was pointing. All he saw was a large tree by a stream.

"I haven't been out here for years, maybe even more," Padmé said as she jumped off Angel's back. Anakin dismounted Grace and followed as Padmé walked over to the tree. He didn't know what was so special about this place.

Padmé knelt beside the tree and pushed aside a large rock. Underneath, Anakin saw a hole filled with different things. An ancient book, a diary, a bracelet, an old looking picture. All sorts of things. Padmé picked up the diary.

"This," she said, holding it up to the light, "I've had forever. It ran out of pages a long time ago. I don't know why I didn't use a holorecorder like everyone else."

Anakin took the diary from her and turned it over in his hand. He fingered the clasp holding it closed and, when Padmé made no objection, he opened it. The pages were a creamy yellow color, filled with indecipherable handwriting.

"Where did you get this?" he asked. He had never seen a real book, with real paper inside to write on. It looked quite old.

"Umm....from an antique shop in Theed, I think." Padmé answered, "I was only eight, hence the terrible writing." She and Anakin laughed. "The pages ran out when I was fifteen or sixteen, can't remember which."

Anakin smiled as he read one of the few neatly written entries. 'Sola is so mean! She took my doll and won't give it back! Now I'm going to have to rescue poor Mary from certain doom.'

"What?" Padmé asked, curious to find out why Anakin was smiling.

"Oh, nothing," Anakin's smile widened; "I was just reading about a doll that you had to rescue from your sister."

"Oh! I remember that!" Padmé replied dreamily, "Sola made me so mad. And I never did get my doll back; although I did take her bracelet for ransom." 

"That doesn't sound much like a diplomatic solution," Anakin laughed. Padmé smiled. 

"She didn't even notice that the thing was gone. In fact, I still have it." Padmé reached back into the small hole and took out an old, tarnished silver bracelet. "See? It's nothing special. Just something an old boyfriend gave her. I don't think she liked him very much. Come to think of it, neither did I."

She and Anakin looked through the diary for a few more minutes, laughing every now and then. They were sitting quite close together (so they could both see the diary) and Padmé was a bit nervous, though she had no idea why. Anakin was a friend, a good friend. Not an enemy.

Finally, breaking the silence, Anakin asked, "Is this your secret spot?"

"No," Padmé answered; "We're not quite there yet, though we're fairly close." With her last words, Padmé rose and headed back to the horses, who were drinking some of the water from the stream. But she tripped on a root sticking out of the ground. With a cry of pure frustration, she fell into the stream.

Or would have if Anakin hadn't caught her, inches from the water's surface. "Are you all right?" he asked, concerned. 

"I'm fine," she answered, still in his arms; "How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Catch me like that! You were over there just a second ago!"

"Oh, it's just one of the things Jedi can do." he said with a smile as he set Padmé's feet on the ground, keeping a arm around her waist. "Let's get back to the horses and keep going. I'm quite anxious to see what you so badly want to show me." 


	4. Chapter 4

Hello, all! I'm soooooooo sorry it took me so long to post this! I'll be good next time, I promise!! Marching band has sadly come to an end, and I now have nothing to do, so you'll be getting a lot of new stories. I'm currently trying to come up with an idea for a Lord of the Rings fic, but so far I have no ideas. I'm also in the process of writing a fic for Zelda. The first chapter will hopefully be posted soon. I probably won't do many more fics for Star Wars. I seem to have lost some interest in it. _ But, if you can give me some ideas, I'm willing to extend this story. If I get no ideas, this will be the end. I personally think it would be a good ending, but I want another's opinion. Thanks for being patient. Now here's your reward!

"We're here!" Padmé announced sometime later. Anakin dismounted and looked around. 'Here' seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

"Well, almost there," Padmé corrected, seeing Anakin's confused expression. "We just need to climb to the top of that rise"

"Okay," Anakin looked in the direction she was pointing.

They walked over to a small hill covered in trees and rocks.

"Leave the horses here; they'll be fine." Padmé instructed as she began to climb, Anakin following. 

After a few minutes, the two reached the top of the rise. The view was breathtaking. The lake was right below them; nearly a hundred-foot drop. Around the lake, mountains rose, covered in trees, all untouched by human hands.

"This," Padmé said at length, "is what I wanted to show you".

"It's beautiful," Anakin said in awe.

"Isn't it? Sola and I found this place one time when we were here a long time ago." Padmé laughed, "We got lost."

"Anakin and Padmé stayed up there for hours, talking and laughing. Anakin told Padmé about the time he found an oasis. A herd of banthas had been drinking from the water, and laying in the shade of the rare trees. It was the first time Anakin had seen any of those, from the water to the banthas. Padmé told him about the first time she had been riding. She had fallen off, and broken her collarbone and a rib. She never wanted to ride a horse again, but Sola insisted she relearn everything. The two sat and shared stories for a long time.

Padmé startled when she heard thunder rumble in the distance. The storm was nowhere near, but the sun was nearing the ground, and would soon be setting.

"We had probably start heading back," she said reluctantly. She had really been enjoying the time alone with Anakin. Slowly, Padmé rose from the rocks she had been sitting on.

Anakin nodded and stood as well and headed over toward the edge of the rise.

The sun had just begun to set as the returned to the Retreat, shedding a soft, golden light over everything.

"Stay and watch the sunset, Anakin?" Padmé asked hopefully.

"Sure," Anakin said. 

They sat down on a bench facing the sun retreating down over the mountains, it's reflection cast upon the lake. Anakin put an arm around Padmé's waist. She yawned and laid her head on his shoulder as she watched the sky change from pink to red.

When the sun was almost gone, Anakin looked down at Padmé. She had fallen asleep. Anakin smiled and place a kiss on the top of her head and pulled her closer. Padmé murmured something contentedly, then curled into his warm arms. Anakin smiled again and leaned his head against her as sleep came to him, too.


End file.
